The Power of Persuasion
by DeniseV
Summary: John thinks of himself as persuasive. But Rodney stands firm. That might work, too. Slash.


"Okay, Rodney. On three. One…two…" John Sheppard counted off.

"I am _not_ doing this," Rodney McKay declared.

"We agreed…" John started, but was interrupted once again by Atlantis' chief science officer.

"I was drunk!" Rodney defended.

"Then I hope you learned a lesson," John countered sincerely. "We have to do this."

"I'm a busy man, Colonel. I don't have time for fun and games."

"You seem able to make the time to beat my ass in poker, rummy, and now Phase 10. I think you can make time for this," Sheppard offered.

Was that an evil grin that Rodney caught on his team leader's face?

"Ah-ha!" Rodney exclaimed, making John jump slightly. "You got me drunk on purpose," Rodney accused, pointing his finger at Sheppard. "I knew there was something nefarious going on that night."

"First, I did not get you drunk. You'd only had one drink when I got called away. I never came back, remember? And second, if I had gotten you drunk, we would have…never mind."

"What's that…?" Now it was John's turn to cut Rodney off.

"It doesn't matter. I didn't get you drunk."

"Well…well, you started it," Rodney insisted.

"That's very fourth grade of you, Rodney."

"In any event, you can't make me do this."

"Rodney, we agreed. And Elizabeth, Carson, Radek, even Teyla – they're all putting something together," John explained patiently, hoping that peer pressure could sway the physicist to participate.

"What about Ronon?" Rodney asked.

John raised his eyebrow as he looked at his friend.

"Okay. Fine. Ronon doesn't have to do it." John and Rodney imagined what that would be like; they shivered simultaneously at the thought.

Rodney smiled at their shared reaction. "Answer me this: why are we doing _this_? Couldn't you have picked something more…?" Rodney paused before saying what he was thinking.

"More…?" John encouraged.

"More…" Rodney waved his hand back and forth.

"Rodney?"

"Manly." Rodney finally stated.

"What do you mean? This is manly. Two men did it in the movie," John added.

Rodney rolled his eyes. "But this is out of context, Colonel. It's a review. A _stupid_ review, I might add. Did you not even think about that – about how this will look as a solo act?"

"It's not a solo, Rodney. It's a duet," John grinned, knowing he was just upping Rodney's irritation factor.

"Ach," Rodney answered, throwing his arms up in the air.

"It's funny. Come on, McKay. You know it's funny," John said, working hard to convince his teammate to join him in the 'fun'.

"In context! In context, _in situ_, it is funny. Outside of the confines of the story, it's…." Rodney stopped, aware that his next comment might not be exactly appropriate for him to say out loud.

"It's…? What?" John asked. Moments passed as Rodney paced. "Rodney?"

Rodney stopped in front of John Sheppard. He looked at John and sighed heavily. He really didn't want to do this.

"Rodney?" John waited. "Cat bite your tongue?"

Rodney's response was as close to _'harrumph'_ as Sheppard had ever heard aloud, followed immediately by, "It's gay."

"Gay?" John asked, frowning at the response.

"Out of context. I'm saying that out of context, outside of the story being told, it would be gay for us to do this." Rodney finished by folding his arms over his chest; a without doubt defensive posture from John's point of view. And he swore he heard another _harrumph_ in his head.

And didn't Rodney McKay look good pouting like that?

"It's not gay, Rodney," John replied as he stepped closer to the scientist. "This is gay." John grabbed the back of Rodney's neck and pulled his face in for a kiss. Rodney struggled a little, but John could feel the moment Rodney decided to just relax and enjoy the ride. And when John decided to seek out the inside of Rodney's mouth, he found his partner in crime more than compliant.

Rodney laughed slightly as he pulled away from John. He smiled and cocked his head, observing his friend in a whole new light. He leaned back against the wall and once again folded his arms over his chest.

To John, that stance now seemed far less defensive than it had just moments earlier. In fact, he would choose the word _'sexy'_ to replace defensive now.

"You think that's going to convince me to do this thing with you?" Rodney asked, a mock glare now directed at his team leader.

"You no likey?" John asked smartly.

"I didn't say that," Rodney noted, walking up to John.

"Radek's going to do Elvis," John offered helpfully.

Rodney snorted. "You don't say," he said softly as he slowly brought his lips to meet John's.

"Do you want to know what Elizabeth's going to do?" John asked as Rodney kissed his lips lightly while he spoke.

"Not really," Rodney answered, forcing John into a sweet, intense kiss. They tussled a little for dominance, but John was happy to let Rodney take this wherever he pleased.

They broke for air. John licked his lips and smiled. "Is there some other way I can convince you to do this?" John asked as he kissed his way across Rodney's chin while he felt the muscle from Rodney's strong back under his hands.

Rodney raised his chin to allow John easier access. "I doubt it," he replied as he ran one hand through John's hair and found his other hand trapped between their bodies, rubbing the colonel's hardening nipple through John's black t-shirt.

"Can I try?" John pleaded seductively.

"Absolutely," Rodney responded as John thought the door locked.

The End.


End file.
